


Meet Me in the Woods

by yespeon



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, F/M, Lea/Isa - side pairing, Murder Mystery, also this has green eyed ven and brown eyed terra because nomura can't stop me, hope you like lycanthropy, the M is for murder but also maybe for spicy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-12 23:44:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18457076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yespeon/pseuds/yespeon
Summary: A curse can only be broken by a mage with a stronger will than the one who inflicted it. Unfortunately, for Terra and Ven, it’s not easy to find someone who can, but as Terra’s lycanthropy worsens, they find he may no longer have a choice—and Aqua finds this may be her one chance to prove herself, and unravel a web of secrets that is far larger than she imagined.





	Meet Me in the Woods

The night air was cool as the wind howled through it, the falling rain shifting sideways as it tore throughout the normally quiet city. Footsteps splashed in a hurry as a woman narrowly dodged an explosive blast of magic, her own spellcasting hindered by the large tome she held tucked in-between her left arm and her chest. The blast missed her and caught the edge of an alleyway, brick and mortar flying like shrapnel through the air and just grazing her cheek.

She hissed as she felt drops of blood— too warm to be the rain— drip down her cheek, mingling with the already dried blood from a head wound that she barely had the time to heal. She slid to a stop and threw up a wall of ice before rounding a corner, hoping to throw off her attacker.

_This spellbook can’t fall into the wrong hands…!_

Mustering up as much energy as she could, the woman teleported to the end of the alley and turned another corner. Shit. Was no one awake in this town at night? Was there no one around to see? Catching her breath, she shifted the weight of the book in her arm and summoned a large, spindly staff, the polished orb at the end burning with magic.

“I know what you want!” she snarled as she drew a circle in the air with her staff, the sigil she created burned into the inky night sky, her incantation ready to be cast. She needed answers though, this was hardly the first threat on her life for knowledge she possessed and she knew it wouldn’t be the last. It was foolish to hesitate, but she needed to know who so badly wanted this book they would kill to get it. “Show yourself!”

A dark figure emerged from the shadows, a toothy grin on his lips. “Bold for someone who was just running away.”

A blast of light shot out of the magic circle she had rendered in the air, but it missed the man entirely, his movements liquid like a stealthy animal, something entirely inhuman. He lunged at her and she swung her staff, the end of it connecting with his body in a sickening thud, and she whispered an incantation to cause an explosion of light and fire on contact.

The force of it sent a shockwave up her arm, her elbow numb as she staggered back, not daring to drop the book she had clenched in her grasp, her knuckles white on its binding. “Do you know what harm could come to the world if this book falls into the wrong hands?”

The man licked his lips, his tongue grazing his canines as his eyes gave a glance to the tome. “I assure you I do.” Golden eyes narrowed menacingly in the darkness. “I know the only reason you haven’t destroyed it is there’s still some good left in it.”

It was true. As dangerous as the arcane magic within its faded pages could be, there were a few that could alter fate in a different way— break curses and mend fatal wounds, spells that had almost been lost to time more than once. 

“Maybe so,” the woman murmured, holding it closer to her as if it were her own child. “I hope you’ll understand that’s why I’ll be taking my leave now.”

She conjured a flash of light, causing the man to howl in pain as she temporarily blinded him to turn down another corner before meeting the back of a wall, too thick to teleport through. She let her staff disappear in a flash of light as she tore off part of her cloak to swaddle the book around her torso. She cast a spell on the wall, causing glowing runes to appear vertically. With a deep breath, she took a step and her world rotated, her magic causing her to be able to walk across the runes. Although there was no fear of falling, the rain and wind pelted her face, making it difficult for her to run.

A claw reached out from the shadows and yanked her off the stone wall by her hood, her back and skull colliding into the concrete with a sickening thud, one that knocked the air out of her lungs and caused her vision to see colors and stars. The pain rocketed through her, but she had to get up, but her body just refused to move. She had to see that this tome was hidden safely, and she had to get home, she had to get home to see—

—she felt the taste of iron on her tongue, and it took her a moment to register the agonizing feeling in her torso. She looked up to see the man had summoned a weapon of his own. It was made of a glowing energy of sorts, but she could barely see it, her vision already blurring and the raindrops sticking to her eyelashes, eclipsing her vision.

It was sticking right through her.

She struggled to reach up, her arm grasping and swiping at air to ward off her attacker. She gurgled in protest, her own blood choking her as the man wrenched her treasure from her arms. 

“I’ll be taking that.” He sneered, before waving a hand and letting his weapon disappear. “It was nice getting to know you, sorceress,” he said before fading into the night, just as the light, too, faded from her eyes.

* * *

A weight had settled in the pit of Terra's stomach, and his jaw clenched so hard it was almost giving him a headache. This couldn't be happening. Not again. This would be the third time in seven months.

"So what I'm trying to say is, you're fired. Vamoose. Adios."

_There it is._

Terra's tongue felt heavy, as if he had swallowed sand. "I haven't done anything wrong," he said, his voice steady and firm, an unfortunately well-practiced response for the inevitable. He knew there would be no changing the outcome, but the least he could do was stand up for himself.

He hadn’t ever asked for this.

His boss held a stack of papers in his pointy, pallid fingers. "You know, it's unfortunate, really, I was already starting to like you, you were much better than the last schmuck that was in here, but we've got a teensy-weensy problem." He slapped the papers down in front of Terra, and he already knew what the charts said. "You didn’t disclose that you’re a werewolf."

Terra winced. It had caused him to come in late several times, mostly because after a night of running rampant throughout the back alleys of the city, he would make his way to some park and eventually get lost within the woods, waking up with no idea where he was and no way to get home. He always made up the hours though by staying late.

“I haven’t bitten anyone,” Terra said, failing to keep an edge from his tone.

His boss smoothed a hand through his fiery hair. “Okay, okay, cool, cool, you haven’t bitten anybody. Yet,” he said, the flames momentarily intensifying. “That’s what Lycaon told me too and the next thing you know, he’s eaten a guy.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Wait, no, maybe he fed a guy to someone. Point is, scram, kid. It’s only a matter of time until you do and hey, can’t get workers comp with you here.”

It was the same excuse before, the one he had heard dozens of times by now. He was a liability— what if he stayed late, what if he hurt someone, what if he ran off into the woods and was never seen again— all sorts of excuses. Terra stood up abruptly, almost knocking his chair over. “You don’t need to fire me,” he said, turning to the door, “I quit.”

His boss waved a different stack of papers in his hand. “Hey, nice cliche, but I already filed the paperwork, it says you’ve been fired—”

— _SLAM!_

Terra shut the door behind him so hard the glass cracked (“See? What’d I tell ya?” His boss called out after him) and stormed out of the building, hugging his jacket close to him as the chilly spring breeze rolled throughout the city, subconsciously bringing his free hand to where a scar marred the spot between his neck and his right shoulder. None of this was fair, but he had to make due now, as he had for months.

"Terra? Terra!"

He turned at the familiar voice, and looked down to see a little golden cat, a bakeneko, dressed in a toddler's hoodie and clutching a salmon-colored coin purse to his chest.

"You’re out of work early?" he asked, his tiny nose pinched and scrunched up in a way that didn't help Terra's sense of failure.

Terra ran a hand through his hair, knowing it was better to be honest. "Yeah, I... got let go again." He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at a spot on the ground so to not see the bakeneko's ears droop. "Sorry Ven."

"It’s okay!" he replied, maybe a little too quickly, shaking off the bad news with a reassuring (albeit toothy) smile. "I’ve been working hard! I think I have enough for our electricity bill with this. Maybe we can even mooch off your neighbor's internet and stream some TV now." He jingled his purse again to make a point, and while Terra knew he would have to teach Ven some manners and why one shouldn't use his neighbor's Wi-Fi, he did feel a small twinge of relief.

"That’s good." Terra sighed, before giving the purse and the cat holding it a curious squint. "Where did you get that money, anyway?"

Ven could hear the accusatory tone creeping into Terra's voice. "I earned it fair and square! I performed outside of the theater. These nice old ladies thought I was super cute. I probably could have gotten more money from them if security didn't end up chasing me away... but they did, so I came here to wait for you!" Despite getting caught he didn't seem too upset, and Terra wished he had the ability to remain positive despite everything.

Even so, he knew Ven had better things to do than dance and play music. "Good job Ven, but... we talked about this. I’d rather you try and be in school." His words were gentle, since he didn't want to seem ungrateful for the little bakeneko's efforts, particularly when it came to his lycanthropy. Ven had been there from the start of his transitioning into becoming a werewolf, and Terra felt lucky to have such a good friend by his side.

Yet as determined as Ven was to take care of him, he was equally determined to not return to middle school, ever since his own curse. "I can't see over the desks!" Ven protested, wrinkling his nose at how Terra changed the subject. "Don't worry though, Roxas is taking notes for me! He even goes and gets pamphlets from clubs I want to join once I’m human again."

In spite of his bad luck for the day, Terra couldn't help but grin as he pictured Ven sitting in one of those uncomfortable plastic school chairs, the tips of his ears just barely visible above the table. He laughed tiredly to himself, causing Ven to pout a little. It was a sore subject, one that would lead them talking in circles over and over, but Terra really wished Ven would consider his education important— curse or no curse.

"If you say so..." There was no use in arguing now, and after the incident at work he didn't really feel up to it. “Thanks Ven," he said, not missing the bakeneko's smug smile or the way his whiskers twitched in satisfaction as he glanced back down at the purse.

"I think we'll have enough leftover money for Isa's party too," he said, tilting his head to the side as he watched Terra blink in confusion. "You didn't forget, did you?"

"Ah, yeah, I did," Terra admitted sheepishly. "He sure picked a perfect night for it," he said as he glanced warily at the sky.

"I don't think he got to pick it," Ven said cheekily. "It’s the anniversary for his werewolf counter-curse." His green eyes followed Terra's gaze. “He called me earlier by the way, he figured we would all want to meet before the moon comes up.”

"Better get moving, then." Terra stooped down and let Ven clamber up his arm and onto his shoulder before making his way down the busy street.

Once they approached the bar Terra could immediately tell this was a Lea decision and not an Isa one. The two were a bit of an odd couple whose interests didn't mix, and Terra even wondered if he would have ever spoken to the two of them in the first place had him and Isa not met at a support group for werewolves. The bar was loud and blasting some music he had heard on the radio and only knew about half the words to, and there was a group playing pool loudly in the corner— far from Isa's likely idealistic image of a quiet afternoon.

Terra's eyes caught a glimpse of cool blue and a shock of fiery red hair at a table, the latter waving them over. "Hey, glad you guys could make it!"

"Didn’t think this is the kind of place you would be having your celebration," Terra said to Isa while Ven took the time to hop onto the table, too short for one of the chairs.

"It isn't. Lea picked it," Isa said while sipping at his wine. "Someone was in charge of making a reservation at the wine bar and forgot..." He gave the redhead an ample amount of side-eye.

"Look, this is better, it's the perfect place for a couple of guys having a beer—" Lea glanced at Ven. "—and a glass of milk. Besides, Isa, you're the only one of us that isn't completely broke."

"I don't think I’d have my current job if it wasn't for the counter-curse," Isa said, with a relieved and wistful sigh. "Hard to think that was a year ago. It feels like a lot longer than that."

Terra knew why. It sounded simple enough that werewolves and other creatures marked as "dangerous" could go receive a counter-curse from a talented sorcerer or sorceress and become less volatile. However few could cast the spell to begin with, and even fewer had ever actually learned it. "Yeah, you guys kept checking back at that sorceress' mansion for months, right?"

"Months? Try a full year and a half. Lady’s elusive," Lea said with a snort as he handed a shot glass full of warm milk to Ven.

Ven smiled as he took the glass with both of his small paws. "Maybe in that amount of time you could've learned to cast the counter-curse yourself, Lea."

Lea sheepishly rubbed the back of his head while Isa's lips twitched into a small grin. "The only magic he's good at is the kind that involves fire, unfortunately," he said, his smile widening as Lea continued to scowl.

"That’s too bad, Terra could probably use a counter-curse," Ven quipped before realizing what he said, ears flattening against his head as Terra gave him a stern look.

"Something happen?" Lea asked as Terra gave him a resigned look.

"Yeah... I got fired. Again," he said, really wishing Ven hadn't said anything— not just to spare him the embarrassment but this was supposed to be Isa's party and he didn’t want to bring such a gloomy atmosphere to it.

Isa gave him a pitying look. "I know that all too well. If you need us to help you, we can. In fact I think Roxas misses having you around, Ven."

It was Ven's turn to look ashamed, and Terra knew that the cat no longer fitting in with his brother or human friends was a bit of a sore subject. "It’s okay, I need Ven's help. He had a really good performance today," he said, Ven giving him a thankful look.

"Oh, really? Nice job, buddy," Lea said and held out a hand for Ven to give him a high-five.

Isa's expression remained grim. "I think you two need to start looking for a sorcerer or sorceress to do something about your conditions immediately."

"It’s not going to be easy," Lea said. "The one we went to is gone, like her mansion just vanished. Probably wanted people like us to stop lurking around it." He leaned back in his chair. "Or we would have recommended you guys go a couple months ago."

"I’ve been saying that!" Ven said, standing up and stomping his little paws across the table to cross his arms at Terra. "But Terra won't go!"

It was difficult to take Ven's irritation seriously, especially when he had all the ferocity of a kitten. Even so, Terra shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I’ve told you. I don't like magic. It does a lot more harm than good."

"Normally I would agree with you. Again, Lea's magic is more prone to set off the fire alarm than anything else," Isa said, earning a roll of the eyes from Lea. "However, you do have to take care of yourself. Especially when society is against you."

"Plus, most actual witches, wizards, sorcerers really know their stuff. Look," Lea said, before pulling a small trinket out of his pocket in the shape of a star. "I got this off of Incantetsy, it's a charm that always helps you find your keys. Neat, right? Point is, I can't cast something like this." He stuffed it back in his pocket. "Sometimes it's okay to need help."

"I’ll think about it," Terra said with a hint of finality, which Ven knew meant that they were done with the current subject. Even if the others had pushed the topic, his phone's alarm buzzed. It was almost dusk.

"Looks like we'll have to be going soon," Isa sighed as he finished off his glass of wine. He gave Terra and Ven and exhausted look. "We’re just a phone call away if you need us tonight."

"I know!" Ven said, pulling out a small flip phone from his purse. "I have Lea on speed dial." He frowned, his whiskers drooping. "Really wish all of you would have given me one with games on it."

"We’d be out of data on day one, then, Ven," Terra said, ruffling his hair. "C'mon, we really have to get going."

"Be careful!" Lea called after them as the two walked out the door, Ven once again perched on Terra's shoulder.

* * *

Terra and Ven walked into the cold, one room apartment they called home.

Terra scrunched his nose at the draft— unable to tell where it was coming from. The building was old, and judging by the high ceiling it was once upon a time some sort of warehouse or business, but he was in no state to complain. It was one of the only places that would let him sign a lease, and one of the only places that offered Ven a spot to hide.

"Are you sure you don't want me to call Lea and Isa?" Ven asked softly, not wanting to injure Terra's pride any more than he already had tonight.

Terra nodded. "I’m sure." He looked around at the room.

There was a small, beat up sofa pushed into one wall, although it only had a window to face instead of a television. A plastic folding table was set in the alcove nearby with two mismatched chairs alongside it, and a stack of overdue bills was balanced precariously in a tray on its corner. The nearby kitchenette was nothing fancy; a sink (full of dishes that he would get to… tomorrow, as he had told himself yesterday), with a small cabinet up above it and a mini-fridge plugged in and humming nearby. It wasn’t much, just small and simple, but it was home, and Ven had done his best to decorate by hanging up some pictures as well as his art projects from school.

Terra’s eyes soon drifted over the one thing stopping it from truly feeling like a home. Large, deep claw marks were gouged deep into the plaster and floorboards, radiating outward from a corner of the room that was far from the door and the window. It was a reminder that once every month this place wasn’t just his home.

It was his prison.

Terra finally spoke. “Better keep that phone close to you, though.” Ven nodded timidly as he followed Terra to this corner. It was here there was a fixture that was out of place with the rest of the furniture: large steel bars were bolted to the wall using the building’s inner framework as support. It initially seemed sturdy enough, but upon closer inspection one would find holes and claw marks peppering the walls where bolts had failed and been previously ripped out. By someone. By some _thing._

There was an uncomfortable pause, and the red light of the setting sun bled through the window, past the old, thin curtains and onto the floor, coloring the room. 

Ven cleared his throat. "I’ll go make sure all the bars are still tight on the windows..." he said quietly before turning around, leaving Terra to stare at the fixture. Then, he slowly began to approach it, the floorboards creaking under the weight of his feet as he picked up one of the chains connected to the steel bars.

This was the worst part of it all. Not constantly losing his job or being unable to pay rent, not the pain that came with shifting or the fear from waking up with no memory of the night before— the worst part was having to treat himself like a fucking animal, a dangerous animal that could hurt anyone at any given moment.

Because the cold, hard fact was, he could.

"Everything’s in place!" Ven called out as Terra snapped the thick cuffs around his wrists and ankles.

"Good. Now go hide, Ven." He knew he didn't need to tell the bakeneko twice. The kid had glimpsed him transforming once. Ven never wanted to see it again.

Terra settled himself as comfortably as he could with what was to come, chains rattling unsympathetically to his plight. Silence fell over the apartment. There wasn’t much pleasant conversation to be had with what was to come.

The light in the room had already shifted from red to purple, and now a cool blue filtered in... along with the light of the silvery moon. 

Ven hid under the couch, his usual safe-spot for keeping an eye on Terra throughout the night. He turned away, screwing his eyes shut to not even give himself the chance of accidentally seeing his grotesque shifting into a beast.

However, try as he might, even if he held his paws down over his ears, that never stopped him from hearing it. He heard Terra scream from a sharp pain to his head, and if he peeked would see him digging his nails into his skull to get it to stop. The worst, though, was hearing bones crack and morph into something larger, the sound of sinew and veins pulsing against his skin. His ears swiveled behind him as he heard claws dig new grooves into the floorboards and winced as his friend let out a deep, ominous howl.

Ven turned around to look upon Terra’s new form and wilted at the sight. It was always so hard to see him like this. The beast lowered his head, looking around wildly with menacing, gold eyes as he panted. He tried to take a step forward but his limb was snagged due to the heavy shackles Terra had applied just before he shifted. The werewolf growled as he tugged at the restraints, but they held firm. Ven had seen this scenario enough times to know how it’d go: Terra would realize he was trapped, and he would lie down, defeated for the rest of the night, unless he heard something, or saw something move—

It was then Ven realized: his tail was sticking out from underneath the sofa. 

Ven had noticed the feral look in the werewolf’s eyes, the one that saw him as prey instead of a friend. “Terra… it’s okay. It’s just me.” Ven called out from underneath the couch as he slowly pulled his tail back. “You’ll be alright. Just— just stay where you are.” He said, his voice cracking with fear.

In response to the bakeneko’s voice the beast bared his teeth in a wretched snarl. He instinctively lunged forward to find the source of the voice, but the chains tripped him once again, causing him to land on the floor with an earth-shaking thud. The werewolf grunted as he picked himself up from the ground, his tongue rolling over his jaw as if it would stave off any of the soreness from colliding with the ground. 

Ven took the momentary distraction to retreat further into the shadows, making sure the coin purse containing his phone was securely around his neck. He desperately hoped that the tumble the beast took was enough to deter him from seeking out the bakeneko further, that he’d settle down and be quiet until morning, when Terra would return with the rise of the sun and everything would be okay again, at least for another month.

Then Ven stepped on a creaky floorboard, causing the beast’s golden eyes to snap in his direction, his cold gaze focused on the gap underneath the sofa.

The fur on the back of Ven’s neck and tail stood up as the beast bared his teeth and snarled with a ferocity Ven had never seen in any of Terra’s prior transformations. The werewolf lunged forward again, the bolts and walls creaking against his strength. For one horrible moment, one that felt like it moved in slow-motion, it seemed like the bolts would hold in place. It seemed that his shackles would hold—

Pop.

_Pop._

_CRACK!_

Ven’s breath snagged in his throat as he heard the bolts come loose, his mouth opened in a scream that didn’t dare leave his throat. He knew he had to _run._

He scrambled on all four paws as the sofa was lifted from above him like it was nothing. The snap of the werewolf’s jaws barely missed his tail, and Ven skittered towards the window. He jumped up onto the curtains, struggling to climb the sheer fabric as it ripped and snagged under his claws.

In what was probably half a heartbeat, he made it to the top of the curtain rod, turning to watch the massive werewolf rear up on his hind paws. Hand-like paws tipped with wicked sharp claws tried to tear down the curtains, the beast’s teeth bared at what it considered to be its next meal.

"Stop it, Terra!" Ven pleaded and extended his claws to slash the werewolf across the nose, causing the beast to howl in discomfort. Ven seized the chance to escape, and launched himself from the curtain rod to one of the rafters, his tiny paws gripping at the wood. He dangled there for what felt like an eternity before being able to pull himself up.

Barely having a moment to catch his breath, Ven opened the pouch fastened around his neck and pulled out his phone. He pressed a number on the pad with shaking paws, Lea's name and number popping up as it began to ring. There was a deep growl below him and he gulped as he peered down. The beast was now circling the spot where Ven was hiding— knowing he'd have to come down eventually.

"C'mon, Lea. Pick up, pick up!" Ven chanted desperately, clutching the phone tightly, terrified he’d drop it.

Lea finally answered. "Ven! Is everything okay?"

"No," Ven replied quickly, unable to keep the terror out of his voice, and he heard Lea murmur something in the background. "Terra's gone berserk again, worse than last time. I barely moved and it set him off."

Lea's tone was steady from practice although Ven could hear it waver just slightly. "You're safe though, right? You're in a spot where he can't get you?"

"Yeah. I'm too high up for him to jump," Ven said, his voice wavering in fear, hoping that was actually the case.

"Just stay calm, Isa will be there in a minute." Lea paused. "Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?"

"Yeah," Ven said, doing his best not to sniffle, wiping away some tears with his hoodie sleeve.

Ven trembled as a low growl from below interrupted his thoughts, and the sound of Lea’s attempted comforts through the phone. The werewolf was pacing back and forth, his golden eyes fixated on Ven. He stood up on his back paws, seeming to realize that the bakeneko was out of his reach and not coming down. With a ferocious snarl, he dropped onto all fours before running to claw and bite the overturned couch in frustration.

Cotton and stuffing flew everywhere, the beast shredding the unfortunate seating into ribbons. With the sofa destroyed, the beast turned its attention elsewhere, which happened to be the floorboards. 

Ven yelped as he pulled his hood down over his head to avoid getting debris in his eyes or nose. His mind raced— Terra had never been this violent before, why was he so angry? Alone and stranded on top of the rafters, Ven had no idea what it meant for either of them, and he hated that he felt so completely and utterly helpless.

It felt like an eternity later, or maybe it was only a second, but a crash echoed throughout the room. Surprisingly, it came from the direction of the front door, not the rampage below.

Another werewolf, gray-blue with a scarred face sprinted across the apartment and barreled into the beast’s side, slamming him into the ground. Ven could hardly stand to look— he hated every time this happened. And while Isa wasn’t at further risk of lycanthropy, he was much smaller and more sleekly built than Terra’s wolf form. If Isa wasn’t careful, serious injury wasn’t out of the question.

Fierce snarls split the tranquility of night as the two wrestled violently, knocking over the chairs and the folding table. Isa's gaze remained determined and narrowed at the wolf in front of him, his eyes still green instead of the glazed over gold, the mark of a feral werewolf. 

"Ven! Get to the door!" he said as he nimbly dodged being clawed, lunging forward to sink his teeth into Terra's shoulder. The larger werewolf howled and whimpered in pain, and Ven wrenched his gaze away from the horrible scene and jumped from rafter to rafter, Lea waiting just outside the door.

"I'll catch you. Jump!" Lea called out and Ven nodded, backing up and springing off the beam into the mage's arms. Ven buried his face in Lea's jacket as the fight behind them intensified.

Isa tackled Terra again, sending him crashing through a table, the larger werewolf’s impact with the ground causing dishes to rattle in the cabinets and picture frames to fall over and shatter onto the floor. It almost didn’t seem to faze him as he reached out and grabbed Isa’s mane and slammed him into the ground. Instead of whimpering Isa snarled and kicked his back legs into Terra’s chest, his claws leaving deep grooves. Blood spattered brown fur, and Isa staggered back and lunged forward once more, knocking Terra to the ground again.

Lea backed away from the door, shifting his weight to hold Ven in one arm and conjuring a fireball in the other, ready to attack if necessary as the fight continued to intensify—the snapping of jaws, snarling, and collisions with furniture seemed to only get louder and louder. Ven's ears were pressed against Lea's sternum as he hid, and he could hear his heartbeat pounding just as wildly as his own.

A howl cut through the chilly night air followed by some whimpering— and then, silence. Isa staggered out of the door, ducking his head under, blood oozing from a shoulder wound onto his fur, and he had a limp in one of his back paws.

"He's out cold, but I think we should lock him in there for now. You can stay with us, Ven," Isa said wearily as Lea gently inspected his wounds. "There's a room to yourself if you want it, your brother is spending the night with some friends."

Ven could only meekly nod in response, his heart still lodged in his throat, too terrified to speak. He flinched as Isa reached out to pet his head, and the blue werewolf retracted his paw.

"I'm just glad we could get here," Lea said, still keeping the fireball alight in his palm as they walked through the dimly lit streets.

There was a long period of silence before Ven finally spoke up. "I'm glad you're here too." He went quiet again before finally turning around, green eyes wide at his two friends. "It just keeps getting worse..."

"I know," Isa said, sighing. "With each passing moon the fog that clouds his mind will become harder to lift." He resumed to walking on all fours, hoping that passerby’s would think him to be a very large dog. He looked up at Ven with a stern gaze, one that gave the bakeneko chills.

"Whatever is holding you two back from seeking a counter-curse doesn't matter anymore— neither of you have a choice." His gaze looked skyward at the moon. "You have to find a sorcerer who can save the both of you, before it's too late."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is, my first large chaptered fic. I would like to thank [Mimi,](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mimiplaysgames) [Gem,](https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiantgem) and [Jen](http://www.twitter.com/thedrawingbirb) for beta reading and giving me feedback. This has been an AU a couple years in the making and has gone on several revisions, so I hope you decide to come along for the ride!


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